The origins of the school lie in the charities established in the late 18th century to clothe and educate the sons of Freemasons near their homes.

These charities amalgamated in 1852 and established a boys' school at Wood Green in North London in 1857.

The Royal Masonic School for Girls, based at Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, was unaffected by the closure.

[7] The site was acquired by Comer Homes in 1998; the buildings were rented out to the United States International University (Europe) (later Alliant International University) until 2009 when Comer Homes began redeveloping the site as Royal Connaught Park.

], the senior and junior school were used for films, including It's Great to Be Young (1956), Lucky Jim (1957), Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).